SOAR Academic Institute

SOAR Academic Institute is a small alternative school in Redford, MI, serving 204 students in grades 6 through 12 as part of the South Redford School District, where a significant portion of the student body (58%) qualifies for free or reduced lunch.

When you look at test scores, SOAR faces real challenges—its state ranking has hovered in the bottom 8th percentile, and proficiency rates on state assessments are well below district and state averages. For example, only 13.6% of 11th graders were proficient in reading on the SAT, compared to 52.1% statewide. However, the school tells a very different story when you look at student persistence. SOAR's graduation rate of 85.8% beats the state average and far exceeds nearby alternative schools like Cambridge Alternative High School (54.5%) and Westfield Preparatory High School (73.9%). Its dropout rate is just 2.8%, dramatically lower than the state's 7.1% and far better than Redford Union High School (10.1%). Perhaps most striking, SOAR's chronic absenteeism rate is only 13.8%, compared to 40.6% for its own district and 46.9% at nearby Lee M Thurston High School—meaning students are showing up, even when they may have struggled elsewhere.

SOAR achieves these outcomes with notably fewer resources. It spends $12,116 per student, less than half of what Redford Union High School spends ($28,568), and it operates with a high student-to-teacher ratio of 30.4. This suggests the school uses a different, cost-effective model focused on credit recovery and relationship-building rather than traditional classroom instruction. For parents considering SOAR, the picture is mixed: if your priority is strong test scores, this may not be the right fit. But if your child needs a supportive environment to stay engaged, attend regularly, and earn a diploma, SOAR's track record of keeping at-risk students on track to graduation is genuinely impressive.